The Detroit Lions are scheduled to play the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday night in the final scheduled game of the 2022 NFL regular season.
Both teams are eyeing the final NFC wild-card berth, with the Packers earning it with a victory. The Lions get in with a Seattle loss earlier in the day to the LA Rams (Seahawks are 6.5-point favorites) and a victory in this game at Lambeau Field.
The weather forecast as of Wednesday morning is for a game-time temperature of 30 with little wind and a 1% chance of precipitation.
In May, when odds for this game were first posted, the Packers were 10-point favorites. Now, they are 4.5-point choices at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and PointsBet.
Lions vs. Packers Betting Lines: Point Spread, Totals, Moneyline
Here are current odds from top US sports betting apps. It’s always recommended to shop around various sportsbooks to find the best prices for your bets and to take advantage of multiple sportsbook bonuses.
Where the Lions and Packers Stand Heading Into Week 18
Both teams are 8-8 and playing well.
Green Bay (also 8-8 against the spread) has won its past four games after dropping to 4-8 with a 40-33 loss at Philadelphia over Thanksgiving weekend and falling three games behind Washington for the final conference wild-card berth. At that point, its Super Bowl odds were +50000. Now, that number is +3100 (FanDuel).
Detroit (11-5 ATS) has gone 7-2 since snapping a five-game losing streak with a 15-9 home win over Green Bay in Week 9 as a 4-point underdog. Just like with the Packers, the Lions’ Super Bowl odds soared during their downturn, topping out at +55000 in late October. But unlike the Packers, Detroit’s Super number remains long (+15000 DraftKings).
In that meeting nine weeks ago, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions in a game for the first time since 2017. On the Packers’ first possession, he tossed an INT from the Detroit 5. One drive later, he threw one from the Lions’ 1. No other QB has had two such throws that close to the enemy goal line the entire season.
Rodgers later threw an INT from the Detroit 22. Plus, the Packers also turned the ball over downs at the Lions’ 17 in the final minute.
Last week, though, Green Bay routed Minnesota 41-17 and most impressively held Vikings star WR Justin Jefferson, the league leader in receiving yards (1,771), to one catch on five targets for 15 yards. In the season opener, he had 184 yards on nine receptions and two scores in a 23-7 home win.
Last week, the Packers also benefited from a kickoff return for a touchdown and a pick-six to help inflate the score and perhaps the point spread for this game. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but over the past two seasons, a team that had an edge of two or more non-offensive TDs over its foe went 0-4 ATS the next week.
Detroit, meanwhile, snapped back from a gruesome 37-23 loss at Carolina in Week 16 (giving up 320 rushing yards) with a 41-10 trouncing of Chicago last Sunday that kept them in postseason contention. In the process, the oft-maligned Lions defense, which has yielded 48 TDs (the second most in football; GB has given up 38), had a season-high seven sacks of the Bears’ Justin Fields. But hold the applause. Fields happens to be the league’s most-sacked QB.
In Sunday’s game, Lions QB Jared Goff had his best outing of the year with a passer rating of 133.6, which was tops among all passers last weekend, and three TD throws. He hasn’t thrown an INT in his past eight games, either, but he’ll be facing a Packers team that’s had back-to-back games with three interceptions, victimizing Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins.
On the ground, Detroit gets a boost from RB Jamaal Williams, a six-year veteran who had a career-high 144 yards last week. He also has a league-best 15 rushing touchdowns and 994 total yards, which puts him on the brink of becoming the first Detroit running back to hit 1,000 in a season since Reggie Bush in 2013. That’s the longest current drought in the league.
Green Bay isn’t bad in the running game, either, led by Aaron Jones, who’s ninth on the chart with 1,073 yards.
Check updated numbers: NFL playoffs odds | Super Bowl 57 odds
Lions vs. Packers Injuries
Lions vs. Packers injuries will be updated when it becomes available.
Lions vs. Packers Prediction
In retrospect, the Lions’ win in their previous meeting was in part the result of highly favorable scheduling.
Detroit, which was well-rested after a bye three weeks earlier, played the previous game at home. Green Bay, which hadn’t reached its bye week, was playing its third straight road game. Only three other teams this year were scheduled to have such a three-week span.
Also, what are the chances Rodgers throws three more INTs here against a Detroit defense that’s had only eight other interceptions this season?
Plus, it’s not like Detroit plowed through that Green Bay defense last time, getting only 254 yards of total offense, its lowest total of the season.
One more thing: There’s a good chance the Lions will be eliminated before kickoff. For them, attempting to beat the Packers on national TV will get the adrenaline flowing, but for how long in the cold and maybe nursing a nagging injury?
Forecast: Packers 27, Lions 17
NFL Week 18: Odds | Betting trends
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